George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Heroes Reborn 1.8: Answers and Questions

Heroes Reborn is continuing in high gear, coming through with some important explanations in episode 1.8.

Claire's death was a mystery - why did she succumb to heart failure during childbirth, being possessed, as she was, of profound regenerative powers? Turns out one of her twin babies, Nathan/Tommy, has the power to take the power from a proximate hero/evo, and so inadvertently robbed Claire of the ability she needed to reverse the heart attack's damage. That's a pretty good if tragic twist.

And why did Nathan/Tommy, raised in the protected past by Hiro - whom he now considers his father - not know any of this in the Heroes Reborn story so far? That answer was also good, and hiding in plain sight in front of us all along: the "penny for your thoughts" man, who has been protecting Tommy all along, took away all of Tommy's knowledge of Hiro etc to protect Tommy from himself, and his determination to go back in time to save Hiro and who knows what and who else.

But what did happen to Hiro, after that great scene in which he says goodbye to his son, and turns to face the clone attackers with just his swords and no super powers? He's surely not dead, though we may not see him again this season. (Molly, on the other hand, is gone, and the conversation between her and Noah, with his knowing exactly what would happen to her, was tender indeed.)

We don't have answers for lots of things yet, by any means, especially because Noah's trip to the past did indeed step on butterflies, which kicked new caterpillars into action, which will no doubt metamorph into who knows what in the weeks ahead.

About Me

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication &
Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997),
Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the
subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science
Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).His short stories
have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.Paul Levinson appears on "The
O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"“NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),“Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous
national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of
television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of
Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

e-mail received from a reader:Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom